Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The future for older people is ageing in place and ageing at home and I welcome the Minister of State's commitments in that regard.

I will comment on the criticism by nursing homes of the regulator, HIQA, and the Department of Health. They claim there is over-regulation. I have examined the homes that have closed recently. Fire has been a big issue, in that fire hazards cannot be, and are not being, dealt with. There are governance issues that are not being addressed. There are significant concerns about infection control and also shortages of staff. There are huge criticisms being made of the appropriate and proper regulation of homes by professional organisations out there that do not add up or make sense.

We need greater involvement by the State in overseeing and helping out nursing homes. I think the Minister of State said as much herself. I do not mean the State should be running homes but it should be providing governance, which is a big issue, especially in smaller homes. It is about keeping smaller homes open. If possible, we should offer interest-free or low-interest loans to deal with structural issues. In a county that has many smaller nursing homes, such as Galway, we could have combined purchasing. We could have people who work for a group of nursing homes, be they private or whatever else, who can go in and offer the additional expertise and support that the smaller homes cannot provide. However, HIQA-----

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